Gardening
Gardening posts
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Make your own leaf mould
What could be better for your garden and the environment than making your own leaf mould? In the autumn (fall) simply gather up your fallen leaves and help them to form leaf mould. It is so easy and you can use it as a mulch or soil improver the following year. Here is a quick step by step guide to being successful with leaf mould. Step 1: Gather up your fallen leaves and put them somewhere that you can mow them. Step 2: Set your lawn mower to a high cut. As you can see, I use the highest setting that my mower has. Step 3: Mow the leaves so…
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Seedlings – how to transplant
Once you have sown your seeds, kept them warm and watered them you need to move them on to the next stage in their development. You need to prick your seedlings out into their final planting place or a larger pot. This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a commission if you use those links at no cost to you. I only recommend brands I use and trust. You will need: Tray of seedlings Multi purpose compost Small pots or seed tray containing inserts or tubes from toilet rolls Small stick or similar Step 1: Fill some plant pots or seed trays with inserts with multi-purpose compost ready to transplant…
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Sweet Peas Success Secrets
Sweet peas are absolutely gorgeous flowers and the scent is exquisite. As a bonus, the more you cut them the more they flower. If you grow them in your garden you can have them as cut flowers in your house all summer. This can be from June until October. To maximise the number of flowers and to get flowers as early as possible you should sow your seeds in autumn (October to November). Here I will run through the best way to sow your sweet pea seeds for success. This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a commission if you use those links at no cost to you. I…
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Free Fuschia Plants from Cuttings
I love my fuschia plants in the summer. I have them in baskets and planters around the outside of my house. They are tender varieties so I have to replace them or overwinter them in my greenhouse. I also increase my plant stocks by taking cuttings and it could not be easier. Who wouldn’t want gorgeous free plants? You will need: Fuschia plants Sharp scissor or secateurs Container for water and cuttings, a glass works well. (I used a set designed to keep my cuttings separated so that I know which ones came from which plants) Water Multi-purpose compost and small plant pots Step 1: Cut some growing shoots from…
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September Gardening – Top Tasks for the Garden
The summer is coming to an end. Everyone has the back to school feeling. The garden, however, can still look stunning. These are a few tasks that I think are really important for September gardening. This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a commission if you use those links at no cost to you. I only recommend brands I use and trust. Dead-heading Flowers If you want your plants to carry on producing beautiful blooms (and why wouldn’t you?) then you need to keep dead-heading. Make sure that you look around the garden every couple of days and take off all the faded blooms. You need to cut them of…
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Successful Seed Sowing
Do you love flowers in your garden. Well, you can enjoy hundreds of flowers for very little cash. Grow your own from seed. Of course, this also extends into vegetables and ‘growing your own’. Best of all sowing seeds is really easy to do. I am going to show you a step by step guide using annual lupin seeds: This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a commission if you use those links at no cost to you. I only recommend brands I use and trust. You will need: Packet of seed. I recommend Suttons Seeds for reliability. Seed tray Seed compost (or multi-purpose compost) Propagator lid or clear plastic…
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Upcycle a broken garden table
Last summer I treated myself to a small round glass garden table to put next to my swing seat. It was to hold my cold drinks in the glorious summer weather (if we got any). This Amazon table is very similar to it. It was lovely and then disaster struck. I got the hosepipe caught round it and pulled it over. The glass smashed and that was that! However I kept thinking that I could re-use the frame and make a new table. I decided to upcycle it! This spring I got on with it. It was all Royal Wedding fever so I took a patriotic theme. I will share…
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June Top 10 Tasks for the Garden
Summer is well and truly here. It is time to get outside and enjoy the garden. Sit out with friends, hold a barbecue and most importantly admire all your gorgeous plants. You still need to find time for a few jobs to keep it all looking beautiful. Here are my top 10 jobs for June. 1) Prune summer flowering shrubs Any shrubs that have already flowered in the spring can now be pruned to keep them in shape and encourage bushy growth. Examples of spring flowering shrubs are philadelphus and lilac. It is also worth noting that if your clematis have already flowered then they can also be pruned.…
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Planting up hanging baskets and pots for summer
This post is all about planting up your hanging baskets and pots with summer bedding for glorious summer displays. I will share how I do mine and any tips that I have. So, find your plants and favourite pots and let’s go! You will need: Plant pot or hanging basket multi-purpose compost plant food water storing granules (optional) plants water Tutorial 1) Setting up Set up your work area with you pot or basket and a supply of compost. I am currently using a mix of multi-purpose compost and peat free multi purpose compost. I am trying to go peat free but I am having mixed results so…
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May Top 5 Tasks for the Garden
May is a really busy time in the garden and it is looking fantastic. The variety of greens is spectacular and there are many flowers to enjoy. So get outside and enjoy it! My top five jobs to do this month are: This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a commission if you use those links at no cost to you. I only recommend brands I use and trust. 1) Plant hanging baskets and pots in May May is the time to plant up your hanging baskets and pots if you are doing your own. If you are anything like me you have lots of tender summer plants waiting to…